Guides for planning parish hymns

How to plan a quarter of hymns in one sitting

Plan three months of hymns at once: lay out the church year, fill the big days first, rotate the rest by last-sung date, then check repeats and tunes.

Last reviewed 27 September 2026

When did we last sing it? Keeping a hymn history

Keep a record of every hymn your parish sings so you can see the last-sung date, how often it was sung this year, and what has not been sung in a year.

Last reviewed 27 September 2026

Planning hymns by season, from Advent to Christ the King

What each season of the church year asks of the hymns, when each season starts in the coming year, and how to tag a hymnal so the right hymns are offered.

Last reviewed 27 September 2026

Printing hymn board numbers and bulletin music slips

Print the week's hymn board numbers in board order and a bulletin music insert with title, number and first line, plus how a folded bulletin is imposed.

Last reviewed 27 September 2026

Computing the church year: Easter, Advent and the propers

How the date of Easter is calculated, how Advent, Lent, Pentecost and the propers follow from it, and how the same Sunday is named in three traditions.

Last reviewed 27 September 2026

Importing your hymnal index from a spreadsheet

Bring the hymnal index you keep in a spreadsheet into a hymn planner: the columns to keep, saving as CSV, matching columns, and what happens to duplicates.

Last reviewed 27 September 2026

A hymn planner spreadsheet or a hymn planner app?

What a hymn planning spreadsheet does well, where it runs out (last-sung dates, repeats, tunes, prints), and how to move off one without losing history.

Last reviewed 27 September 2026

Questions about the hymn planner

Short answers on where plans are kept, why no texts or readings are shipped, the church year, the repeat warnings and what is free.